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Re: Boxes won't fit.....help please...

Originally Posted by postie

The quarter inch was too much...with the gap on the corner and the unsteadiness of the top box, the bees were flying out the sides. I'm pretty sure this would leave them wide open to robbing and also leave some room for burr comb.

If I use weights on top, what I would be doing is warping the top (empty) box to fit the warped (full) bottom box...that might make both boxes unusable for interchanging later, not sure. What does sound good is the shimming ideas and then tape up the distance, I'd just want to be sure not to put any of the "sticky" towards the inside of the gap where the bees would stick. We are having high winds and rain for today, so the girls will have to wait at least one more day...I sure don't want to chase down any more swarms! All the ideas are great ones and definitely giving me some options I would have never thought up...I'm always open to creative ideas and usually I'm not too good at that!

Still not a problem. Lots of my boxes have corners out and other openings. A decent hive won't get robbed out in a 1/4". Your entrance is far larger. I also prop tops up.

Re: Boxes won't fit.....help please...

I agree with what has been said. Put the box on, put some weight on it, the bees will fill in the details.

It happens all the time. If you keep your boxes in stacks regularly, they will tend to stay better aligned in that way, but they do change shape with humidity and temperature. It is the nature of wood.

Re: Boxes won't fit.....help please...

I whittled some thin shims and stuck them in at each corner then ran a strip of duct tape around the box. It looks pretty neat (not as in "cool"), but as in tidy. When I get a chance to change out the box at some later date, I will do that. For now, seems to be working well. I also put some blocks on top. I just felt in a crunch for time because the bottom box was a split that DID have the queen and was wall to wall brood....plus, swarms everywhere. I was just brain dead I think. I APPRECIATE all the ideas and will put them all to good use over time. Thanks everyone!!!